"Roots. That's a good word for it. Everybody's got a family tree and just to know how the roots grew, well that gives you a sense of who you are." spoken by Martha Corinne Walton, The Waltons, Episode 10, 1976

David's Reformed Church Congregation

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Tombstone Tuesday - Cemetery Road Trip

Old Dutch Cemetery, Highland County, Ohio

A couple of years ago, I got inspired to take a cemetery road trip. Both my husband and I have family members who were early settlers in several southern Ohio counties and I got the brilliant idea that we could take a drive down to visit four cemeteries where we would most likely find the gravesites of some of our ancestors. Beginning with my Shoemaker ancestors in Old Dutch Cemetery in Highland County, Ohio, following up with Locust Grove Cemetery near Peebles in Adams County, Ohio and finishing up with my husband's Odle-O'Dell family at Friendship and Odle-Piatt Cemeteries in Turkey Creek, Scioto County, Ohio. With the use of Google Maps and good advice from some helpful online friends, I created an itinerary that I thought would make for trip of great discovery. Now, I just had to convince my family this would be fun. My husband wasn't hard to convince. Even though he really didn't have a clue which of his relatives I was really looking for, he was ready for some time away from his job. job. The kids were going to be a harder sell. Two teenaged and one "tween" boy were not going to be enamoured by the thought of driving for several hours and stopping only to visit cemeteries where they were going to be put to work looking for names. So, I decided I would make this a getaway weekend and we would find a motel with a pool for a night. I figured if they knew there was a pool and some in room movies waiting for them, I could get them through the 6 or 8 hours of sheer agony they were going to have to endure. So I presented them with the agenda, and even though they weren't thrilled, they decided it might not be torture.

With their acceptance, I began to check out the cemeteries a little more closely so I would be prepared when I arrived. The one that most concerned me was Old Dutch. It looked as though it was located in the middle of a cornfield and according to some accounts I read, it was surrounded by a locked gate. Oh great. How was I going to get someone to unlock the gate for me. I emailed the Highland County Sheriff's Dept. and asked if someone could unlock the gate for me when I arrived. They must have thought I was completely daft because I never received an answer. So, I decided I would take a small ladder along; just in case!

The day arrived and we loaded the car with all the essentials. Maps, notebooks, pens, and camera for my husband and me and snacks and games for the boys. We headed out and made it to Highland County in a little over an hour. Sure enough, Old Dutch was located off the road, behind a cornfield. We had to drive through a little cleared area of grass next to the field. I kept thinking the farmer wasn't going to be happy with us! When we arrived at the cemetery I was pleasantly surprised by how well kept it was and how beautiful and serene the area around it was. Purple wildflowers bloomed throughout the grass and the stones were in very good condition. Some that had broken had been meticulously repaired. It was here that I found the gravesites of Samuel and Julia Ann Weaver Shoemaker, my paternal 4th great grandparents, as well as those of several of my distant Shoemaker cousins.

Since the cemetery was small, my sons didn't have to look too hard for names, so they decided they would busy themselves with bothering the ground spiders that were plentiful throughout Old Dutch. They discovered if they took a stick and moved it anywhere near the hole of the spider's den, they could get the spider to jump out at them. As a future science teacher, my oldest son found that fascinating. So far, so good!

The next stop was Locust Grove Cemetery in Adams County, a little farther southeast. It was about another hours drive to reach our destination and further into the country. I couldn't help but wonder how much the land had changed since my relatives had lived there. When we reached the cemetery, I was surprised at it's size. I knew I would be putting the kids to work there. We didn't see any type of cemetery office, although since it is a working cemetery, I know there must have been one around somewhere. It was here that I found the gravesite of my great grandparents, Thomas and Roseanna Varvel Shoemaker and those of many of my great aunts and uncles, as well as that of my great great grandfather, Jacob Shoemaker.

We spent quite a bit of time at Locust Grove. I really hated to leave; fearing I would miss someone. But, the day was getting late and we still had a drive ahead.

Time to head toward Friendship Cemetery in Turkey Creek, Scioto County.

I didn't know a lot about where we were headed, except for the fact that it was close to the banks of the Ohio River and very near the Shawnee State Forest and Resort. Some of the land that was once owned by the Odle's was sold to the state of Ohio when the forest was being created. As we drew nearer to the area, the geography was becoming even more rural. If you have ever been through the southern and southeastern portion of my state, you will know what I am talking about. I thought how difficult it must have been to farm in this area because of all the hills. We had some trouble finding just where we were going. This was before GPS devices had come into vogue and we certainly didn't have one! Up until this point, even though the weather was threatening, we had had no rain. The kids were getting a little tired and I have to admit, I was getting kind of cranky myself. We finally found the cemetery and the church it surrounded was one of the prettiest country churches I have ever seen.

And, of course, it was just then that it began to rain, the kids started to complain and they became a huge pain!

Luckily, my husband took it in stride, determined that we were not going to come all this way and not discover his family. The cemetery is medium sized, so it wasn't too difficult to find our way around. It was here that we found the gravesites of my husband's maternal great grandparents, Andrew Jackson and Bertha Welty O'Dell.

We also found the burial place of his great great grandparents, William and Angeline Piatt Welty and those of several of his great aunts and uncles. It was quickly becoming a very good trip for us!

With one last stop to make, the rain began to slow down. The next cemetery was a little more difficult to find.

The Odle-Piatt Cemetery is very small and quite overgrown with weeds, but we did finally locate it. After the spider episode, the boys were a little less inclined to enter an area that looked like such a wonderful home for other creepy crawlers, so my husband and I let them wait in the car. It was here that we located the gravesite of my husband's great great grandparents, Nelson and Sarah Walker Odle, and several of their children.

By this time, we were all worn out, but feeling like we had done a good day's worth of research. With the final pictures taken we headed to Portsmouth and that promised swimming pool.

It's been a couple of years since we headed out on our Southern Ohio Cemetery Road Trip and I sure am ready to head out again. Didn't they say it was going to be 50 degrees this weekend? Hey kids.........

Hi Lori, I may be related to Samuel and Julia Shoemaker too. My gr grandma is Esther or Easter Shoemaker buried st Locust Grove in Ohio. Her dad was Martin Shoemaker who is supposed to be there too, but I couldn't find the graves. My grandma used to speak about the Old Dutch cemetery - so Samuel and Julia could be my 4th greats, contact me to try to help me fill in my missing fsmily tree info. Margaret Coogan. margaretcoogan87@gmail.com

Lori, Samuel & Julia are my 5th great-grandparents. Jacob Caplinger/Jemima Shoemaker/John Shoemaker & Barbara Countryman. Sounds like you had a wonderful and successful trip! My mother and I have been doing little day or evening trips to a few of the cemeteries to get information. I love it! I live in Greene County. You can contact me on facebook at kimberly.stackhouse.3@facebook.com

My husband and I are both related to the Shoemaker's at Old Dutch. lolMine is through my Mercer side (maiden name) and my husband through obviously the Shoemaker's.My husbands gg grandfather was Ashton Martin Shoemaker.

The Graphics Fairy

Disclaimer and Copyright Info

Disclaimer and Copyright InfoDisclaimer and Copyright Information:1. Copyright: Genealogy and Me is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License and is owned and administered by Lori J. Hellmund2. Content: Genealogy and Me reflects the personal views and opinions of Lori J. Hellmund.3. Credit: I promise to make every effort to give proper credit to any sources of content or information in Genealogy and Me. If you feel you or another source lacks credit, please contact Lori J. Hellmund.4. Images: Any image which is not otherwise attributed to another source, is presumed to be owned by Lori J. Hellmund.If you like the photo and you would like to use it, I probably won't mind, but please ask for permission first! I have had photographs stolen and added to some family history sites without my permission and this makes me unhappy!6. Comments: I do moderate the comments that are left by visitors in the comments section, but I am not responsible for any comments left by guests.7. Liability: If the reader uses information from Genealogy and Me and is somehow injured, Lori J. Hellmund is not responsible. The sites that Genealogy and Me links to via hyperlinks are not under the control of Lori J. HellmundThose sites are responsible for the content of those sites. about genealogy and family history.* Inspiration for this disclaimer provided by Valorem Law Group and by Destination: Austin Family .Any personal information you provide to us including and similar to your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address will not be released, sold, or rented to any entities or individuals outside of Genealogy and Me.Credit Card Details: Genealogy and Me will never ask for Credit Card details and request that you do not enter it on any of the forms on Genealogy and MeExternal Sites: Genealogy and Me is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. You are advised to read the privacy policy of external sites before disclosing any personal information.Cookies: A "cookie" is a small data text file that is placed in your browser and allows Genealogy and Me to recognize you each time you visit this site.Cookies themselves do not contain any personal information, and Genealogy and Me does not use cookies to collect personal information. Cookies may also be used by 3rd party content providers such as newsfeeds.Remember The Risks Whenever You Use The Internet : While we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information that you transmit to Genealogy and Me and you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of any passwords or other account information. In addition other Internet sites or services that may be accessible through Genealogy and Me have separate data and privacy practices independent of us, and therefore we disclaim any responsibility or liability for their policies or actions.Please contact those vendors and others directly if you have any questions about their privacy policies.